On Gaza, Turkey leads the way

ExclusiveJune 2010, by Jasmin Ramsey

The blue sea of Marmara connects Turkey’s territories in Europe to those in Asia. Istanbul stretches out on both sides, divided by the Bosphorus, which is crossed easily and cheaply by ferry. The Marmara’s geographical positioning is a constant reminder of Turkey’s unique role in the region, a place where traditional definitions of East meet West.

Since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AK Party came to power, there has been debate about Turkey’s direction. Should the country now be considered a dynamic, Islamic society? Erdogan’s continued refusal to take a submissive stance towards Israel has triggered criticism on other scores. Some argue that while Erdogan has surpassed his predecessors in Israel-related foreign policy postures, he has good reason to reconsider going further. Although the initial wave of protests that broke out in Turkey after Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara have died down, continued events related to Israel-Turkey relations suggest that the alliance is shifting into a new form that could alter the power balance in the Middle East.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, editorial features editor Robert L Pollock accuses Erdogan of “provoking Israel on Hamas’s behalf.” According to Pollock, expressing outrage and demanding accountability for the Israeli murder of nine Turkish citizens in international waters is not the correct response from “good leaders”. Erdogan should have tried to “diffuse” the situation, and the gritted-teeth way in which the article is written suggests that Pollock actually expected an apology from the Turks.

There is discussion, too, within Turkey about how relations with Israel will affect the country. In a series of articles in Today’s Zaman, Andrew Finkel makes several references to the possibility of negative blowback within Turkey should its prominence with the international community suffer a blow. Finkel says this possible result requires serious consideration before more moves are made to further widen the divide between Israel and Turkey: “One can only assume there is debate among the highest echelons between those who believe that the last week has served to redefine Turkey’s new soft power in a positive way and those who worry this exercise is getting out of hand; the contrast between a Turkey which enjoys more prestige and one which risks dismantling its carefully nurtured image of an ambassador between different regions…We are being invited to pause and take a deep breath.”

The Turkish writer and political analyst Kadri Gürsel also argues that the Turkish government’s future moves should take into consideration the limitations of adopting hardline foreign policy stances: “It’s true that Turkey wants to play a bigger role in the Middle East and deserves to do so. The question is how can it play this role. If it wants to enhance its role with other nations in the region, it must degrade its relationship with Israel to a degree. Even a secular government would do this, though perhaps in a gentler way.

But the Turkish government’s policies are not anti-Israel because that is an ontological position. Being anti-Israel involves the refusal of Israel in an extreme way. This government tried to be fair. It tried to cooperate with Israel in mediation efforts between it and other countries in the region [particularly Syria]. But the AKP government is also trying to force Israel to change its attitudes, and depriving Israel of its relationship with Turkey is a major strategic loss. We don’t know yet what the ramifications of this will be.”

To the question of how much the AKP’s Islamic identity influences its decisions Gürsel says: “This government has Islamic sensitivities in its foreign policy and one could argue that this is natural for a political party that has roots in Islam; but I think they are exceeding the limits of the rational and they are depriving themselves of the capacity to get results. They will find it difficult to continue to act as a mediator in the region now.

“Turkey has a right to pursue economic interests with other countries such as Iran, but I think this issue is intoxicated by a degree of ideology. I think governments moves to worsen its relationship with Israel is a deliberate move, since Israel has been proving that it is a burden on its western allies, especially the US. And Turkey has taken advantage of this. The relationship between Israel and Turkey is asymmetrical; Israel needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Israel. But we have to assess the government’s action on two levels, domestic and international. Elections are approaching and the government can use this event to win popular support.”

In The National, Middle East analyst and TIME editor Tony Karon points out the way in which the Mavi Marmara incident and Turkey’s stance towards Israel may be prelude to a power shift in the region: “Pax Americana, it seems, is slowly in decline. Mr Obama’s promising words in his Cairo speech a year ago have delivered no substantial change in US policy in the region, and Ankara seems no longer willing to tolerate the suffering being imposed on Gazans with Washington’s tacit consent. In taking this position, Turkey is channelling regional public opinion, and doing so in a way far more credible and effective than the hollow antics of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

The impacts on Turkey of Erdogan’s reaction to the attack on the Mavi Marmara, both domestically and in the international arena, remain to be seen. But for Israel, it has strengthened calls for the international Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against it. Businesses are refusing to do work with organisations complicit with the Israeli government’s treatment of the Palestinians; and even well-known performers are cancelling pre-scheduled events in Israel, arguing that they will not entertain an apartheid-sponsoring regime.

Palestinian grievances can no longer be regarded as only a Muslim or Arab issue. Rather, the idea of Palestinian freedom from Israeli occupation is being embraced as an issue of human rights. Turkey is this time unique for the pivotal role it can play in a region dominated by what some consider to be a power imbalance that has reigned for far too long.

The global actors- Governments, UN, NGO’s are silent.
All are busy verifying their petrol backlog
On a corner a small news board displays:
742 people killed by Islamist worldwide:1 Apr-May 2010
The Islamic terrorists hid in civilian areas, dressed as civilians, sometimes wearing burka
Places, numbers, killing methods in
twww.examiner.com/x-7095-NY-I...

Nobody pay attention

Act 2: “VICTORY”

The global actors- Governments, UN, NGO’s some are cheering “Victory” some are silent
The news board displays:
Victory!!! A terrorist was killed together with his wife,3 daughters, a grandchild and other men, women and children by a long range missile
Ref_ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3744074...

The action was 10.000 miles from the countries shores treated by the terrorist
The terror group agenda is to impose Islam worldwide

Act 3: THE CHILLING HYPOCRACY

The global actors- Governments, UN, NGO’s are paying for petrol supply with a small coin named Israel
All are shouting:
“Israel open the arms supply channel to Hamas”

Hamas activists are marching with slogans form their charter:
1:Peace &quiet would not be possible except under Islam
2:The Day of Judgment will not come until Moslems kill the Jews
3: Sharia goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force till the Day of Judgment
Hamas charter link :http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm

Chamberlin (masked as Obama) cheered by EU leaderas says; I am bringing peace to mankind once again after WW2

The stage curtain is down.
A small child is searching in the darkness for the moral values

Although I shouldn’t be surprised, it is still shocking to read such biased editorializing. The incessant drum beat against Israel makes absolutely no sense. What is Israel supposed to do, lay down and allow the muslim world to wipe them out? The muslim societies are notoriously vicious. They won’t be satisfied until they have annihilated the Jews. The actions of Israel are hardly cruel by any standard of self defense against a sworn enemy. Shame on you for callous indifference to the safety of Israeli citizens, and for propagating this relentless and ridiculous lop sided myth. How do you sleep at night when you support savage tyrannical dictators and those who encourage them?